Twisted Perfection

from everyone if I did.”
    Woods didn’t let go of my hand. “I don’t like it.”
    I frowned up at him. “But I gotta go,” I told him.
    “Then I’m taking you somewhere. Either I get to go down the beach too or I drive you to a restroom.”
    I thought about it and decided I wasn’t going to be able to go out into the water and pee. I sighed in defeat. “Take me to a restroom.”
    He grinned. “The closest one I can get you into is the house.”
    “Then take me to the house.”

Woods

    Della had asked me to wait on her in the truck. She didn’t want me to go inside with her so she could pee. I agreed to that. There had been no way I was letting her go get in dark water all alone but this I could do. However, after several minutes and Della not coming back out I decided I needed to go check on things. She’d had more than enough time to go pee.
    When my foot hit the top step I heard Angelina’s familiar high-pitched voice. Shit. Her car wasn’t out here. What was she doing in my house?
    I jerked the door open and stalked into my living room. Della stood there with her arms crossed protectively over her chest as she stood against the wall while Angelina continued to badger her with questions.
    “What the fuck are you doing in my house?” I roared as I shoved past Angelina and grabbed Della so I could protect her. It was a miracle Angelina hadn’t sent Della into one of her panic attacks. I ran my hand down her back to soothe her as I glared at Angelina who was watching me closely.
    “This is why? You threw away your future because of her? She works as a server at the club, Woods. What the hell are you thinking? Look at her. She’s… she’s… just all out there. Nothing about her fits you. Are you fucking her as a form of rebellion?”
    Della flinched in my arms and I was real close to not caring that Angelina was a woman. I was ready to hurt her.
    “Be very careful what you say. This is my house you broke into. I’ll have your ass locked up until your daddy can get here and bail you out.”
    Della was stiff in my arms and I slid my finger under her chin and tilted her face up so I could see her eyes. She was with me. Good.
    I looked back up at Angelina. “You need to leave. Don’t ever step foot back in this house. And stay away from Della. You talk to her or hurt her and you’ll regret it.”
    Angelina hissed and slung her hair over her shoulder. “You don’t threaten me Woods Kerrington. I’m not scared of you. This… this farce you have going on here with her,” she pointed her long manicured nail toward Della, “it’s ridiculous. I would have still married you. All you had to do was tell me you needed to get this one out of your system.”
    Della flinched in my arms again and I’d had enough.
    “Get. Out. Now,” I roared.
    “Well, I need to call someone to get me. I had my daddy drop me off here. I thought I could wait on you and talk to you. But she came walking in instead of you.”
    “You have a phone. Leave my house and call someone to come get you. I want you out of here.”
    Angelina spun around and her heels clacked against my hard wood floors. When the door slammed behind her I picked Della up and carried her into my room and sat down with her on the bed.
    “Look at me,” I said, needing to see her face.
    She lifted her eyes to me and the confusion and pain I’d expected to see wasn’t there. Instead she was… angry.
    “You were going to marry that bitch? Really? What were your parents thinking? She’s horrible, Woods. You’re so much better than that. I can’t...”
    I covered her mouth with mine before she could say anything else. I was so damn relieved to hear the anger in her voice instead of hurt I just needed to reassure myself she was okay.
    Della kissed me back with equal vigor then pushed me away.
    “I still have got to pee,” she said and stood up.
    I smiled as she ran to the bathroom.
    Then the fact my father was going to know about Della hit me and any humor that had been there was gone. He’d hate this. He’d hate her. If there was any way I could shut Angelina up I would. I just didn’t know how. She was a woman scorned. She’d been tossed for someone else and she was furious.
    I reached for my iPhone and turned it off. If he called tonight I wasn’t dealing with him. I would make sure Della was nowhere near when I had this conversation with him. If he pushed me too far I’d pack up and leave. Della had a list of places she wanted to